Another New Guy with questions.

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Mike P 52

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Joined
Jul 22, 2023
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Location
SW Arizona
Hi All, I just joined and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Mike and am 71 years old I've been a hotrodder pretty much all my life. I started out working in a Chrysler/Plymouth Dealership back in 1968. I've built a lot of cars and trucks of different brands over the years both for myself and customers (I ran my own shop for about 20 years). I've always had a soft spot for Mopars and my 2 current toys are a 57 Plymouth and 37 Dodge Pick up, both with fist generation HEMIs, my daily driver is an 87 Ram 50 with an engine swap.

I'm looking at doing what will probably be my last build and at this point I'm starting to collect information. I've pretty much narrowed that I want to build a late 60s to mid 70s Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant. The drive train will be a First Generation Chrysler 354 Hemi and a 46RH transmission (both of which I have on hand and have been freshly rebuilt) rear end will be preferably an 8 3/4 mopar (or in a pinch 9" Ford) with 4.30 gears. The intent of the car will be for it to be a dependable daily driver capable of driving cross country (4000 mile round trips). Accessories will probably be limited to Power Steering and AC.

I'm hoping someone on the site has done a similar swap and can provide some insight like what oil pan he/she is using, how big of a radiator will fit, and what issues I can expect installing a 46RH in an A Body.

Anyway any help anyone can give or point me to a build thread will be greatly appreciated.
 
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Welcome, looking forward to seeing your future build. You have found a great site, and there is a ton of knowledgeable folks here. They are more than willing to help and share their experience.
 
IMG_0962.jpeg
 
Man we are gonna HAVE to demand photos of those two!!! I'm 75, and unfortunately, my 67 is still apart. I silly bought a 74 /6 Scamp that needed a roof, and am going to have to tear the front/ rear glass back out because the glass company are skill-less and brain-less
 
Thanks for the welcome!

".......Man we are gonna HAVE to demand photos of those two!!!........"

How about a short Video?



The 57 Plymouth has the dual quad 354, A833 Overdrive 4 Speed, and a 9 1/4 rear end with 4.10 gears.

The 37 Dodge PU has a 55 331 with a weiand Drag-Star 6 Duece manifold, 46RH, and B Body Dana 60 with 4.56 Gears.

The 354 on the run stand started life as a 55 331 and is the one I'm planning on using in the A Body project.
 
Welcome.
In my personal opinion..., the differential gear numbers you posted are not meant for long over the road journeys even with an overdrive trans.
If building an over the road passenger car, why not an over the road/highway gear, like in the 320s?
Per what I read above, you already have all you need to burn tires around the neighborhood and or pull up stumps (less the tries).
 
Mike P 52 said:
Hi All, I just joined and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Mike and am 71 years old I've been a hotrodder pretty much all my life. I started out working in a Chrysler/Plymouth Dealership back in 1968. I've built a lot of cars and trucks of different brands over the years both for myself and customers (I ran my own shop for about 20 years). I've always had a soft spot for Mopars and my 2 current toys are a 57 Plymouth and 37 Dodge Pick up, both with fist generation HEMIs, my daily driver is an 87 Ram 50 with an engine swap.

I'm looking at doing what will probably be my last build and at this point I'm starting to collect information. I've pretty much narrowed that I want to build a late 60s to mid 70s Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant. The drive train will be a First Generation Chrysler 354 Hemi and a 46RH transmission (both of which I have on hand and have been freshly rebuilt) rear end will be preferably an 8 3/4 mopar (or in a pinch 9" Ford) with 4.30 gears. The intent of the car will be for it to be a dependable daily driver capable of driving cross country (4000 mile round trips). Accessories will probably be limited to Power Steering and AC.

I'm hoping someone on the site has done a similar swap and can provide some insight like what oil pan he/she is using, how big of a radiator will fit, and what issues I can expect installing a 46RH in an A Body.

Anyway any help anyone can give or point me to a build thread will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I love your idea of a Dart, Welcome

PXL_20230723_214655205.jpg


PXL_20230723_214715484.jpg
 
Mike P 52 said:
Thanks for the welcome!

".......Man we are gonna HAVE to demand photos of those two!!!........"

How about a short Video?



The 57 Plymouth has the dual quad 354, A833 Overdrive 4 Speed, and a 9 1/4 rear end with 4.10 gears.

The 37 Dodge PU has a 55 331 with a weiand Drag-Star 6 Duece manifold, 46RH, and B Body Dana 60 with 4.56 Gears.

The 354 on the run stand started life as a 55 331 and is the one I'm planning on using in the A Body project.
Click to expand...

kick a$$ , the music was too...
agree with the gear post above tho...
 
James that is a great looking car!



RedFish and Bob, a few years ago I would have absolutely agreed with you on the gear ratio.

What changed my mind was the 37 Dodge. During the initial mock-up of the truck I was planning on a 727 and a rear-end with around a 3.20 gear. From experience with the Gen 1 HEMIs and with the old tech including carburetor(s), ignition and the cams I’m fond of, the sweet spot for cruising is normally around 26-2900 RPM at 75 MPH. At the time I hadn’t picked up a rear end yet, but had a B Body Dana 60 sitting around I had been trying to sell. The reason I hadn’t had any takers on it at what I was asking was primarily because it had 4.56 Gears in it. I ended up deciding that as the 37 Dodge was strictly going to be a toy that wouldn’t travel too far from home what the heck I’d throw in in the Dodge with an OD transmission.

I ended up using a 46RH. OMG if you have never driven a street car with 4.56s, it is a RIOT. The 46RH has a .69 overdrive ratio resulting in the effective ratio being 3.14:1. With 28 inch tall tires 75 MPH is around 2800 RPM right in the engine’s sweet spot. 4.30 Gears will effectively be 2.96 and of course RPM will also be effected by the tire size I use, so a might play with the gear ratio a little bit.

Now all that being said, I’ve been looking at what’s involved to install a 46RH in an A body. At this point it doesn’t look like a show stopper as long as my back will let me crawl in and out under the car to the measuring, fitting and welding ( a kit for the trans mount would sure be nice).

I do have a plan B, I still have a builder small block 727 sitting in the back shed which should eliminate the trans mount modifications, and I would be back to looking at a 3.20 ratio.

On a side note, the 2 thing that are critical with the deep gears are drive shaft balance (fortunately there’s a good drive line shop close by) and pinion angle.
 
WELCOME!!

Well given you location, finding a body should be fairly straightforward....no?
 
Mike P 52 said:
Thanks for the welcome!

".......Man we are gonna HAVE to demand photos of those two!!!........"

How about a short Video?



The 57 Plymouth has the dual quad 354, A833 Overdrive 4 Speed, and a 9 1/4 rear end with 4.10 gears.

The 37 Dodge PU has a 55 331 with a weiand Drag-Star 6 Duece manifold, 46RH, and B Body Dana 60 with 4.56 Gears.

The 354 on the run stand started life as a 55 331 and is the one I'm planning on using in the A Body project.
Click to expand...

Ok maybe best video ever?
 
Welcome Mike glad to have you here so make yourself at home beer in the fridge and shop is open.
 
Hey Mike -
First off, welcome to FABO!
Have you considered using a 200-4R trans? They'll fit in an unmodified A-Body tunnel and offer a 0.67 od with a better gear spread than a 727. I'm using one in my '69 Dart build. Non-computer too.
Several really good threads about this trans on FABO.
Check it out.
 
Thanks guys.

Clementine, no it shouldn't be too bad to find one out here, heck I still see some even being used as daily drivers occasionally. I put the word out to a couple of guys I know this morning about what I'm looking for. Basically a solid 2 door (doesn't matter whether it's a sedan or hardtop) with presentable paint and good upholstery. Something I can do the swap in and drive without months of having it down for cosmetics.

ocdart, no I hadn't even considered a 200 4R. At this point I'm pretty committed to the 46RH (it's already rebuilt and on hand) or in a pinch going thru the builder SB 727 I also have on hand. I also already have the Hot Heads adapter on hand that will work with either transmission.

That being said, finding a 200 4R would not be hard, and the nice thing about the Gen 1 HEMIs is there are adapters out there to put just about any transmission behind them. It is something I'll look at as an option, but like I said I'm pretty committed to the 46RH or 727.





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